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On Friday, 10 February 2017, at about 4:00 P.M., some twenty to thirty young people and families with children, all residents of the village of Madama, which is located south of Nablus, went on an outing to spot a few hundred meters south of the village. At around 4:15-4:30 P.M., five or six...

Since 2000, Israel has maintained a “buffer zone” along the Gaza border, within Gaza, restricting Palestinians’ access to their farmland and killing or injuring hundreds of civilians who posed no danger. Since 2014, the military has also sprayed herbicides to maintain the “buffer zone”, damaging...

Since 2000, Israel has maintained a “buffer zone” along the Gaza border, within Gaza, restricting Palestinians’ access to their farmland and killing or injuring hundreds of civilians who posed no danger. Since 2014, the military has also sprayed herbicides to maintain the “buffer zone”, damaging...

Since 2000, Israel has maintained a “buffer zone” along the Gaza border, within Gaza, restricting Palestinians’ access to their farmland and killing or injuring hundreds of civilians who posed no danger. Since 2014, the military has also sprayed herbicides to maintain the “buffer zone”, damaging...

In May 2013 soldiers fired at ‘Ata Sabah, 12, near his school. He was left paralyzed from the waist down. His family has had to pay for nearly all his medical care because Israel has managed to craft a legal reality in which it is virtually impossible for Palestinians harmed by Israeli security...

In Feb. 2004 Basmah Mansur, a mother of 10, was hit at home by soldiers’ gunfire. After regaining consciousness, she could not do even the simplest tasks unaided. She has been dependent on the goodwill of others ever since because Israel managed to craft a legal reality in which it is virtually...

In June 2004 soldiers fired at the Islim home, killing Maher, 17, and wounding Bahaa, 15, and their father. Bahaa lost an eye and underwent many PA-funded operations in Jordan. But the family had to cover travel and lodging because Israel has managed to craft a legal reality in which it is...

Since September 2000, Israel has maintained a “buffer zone” along the fence with Gaza, inside Gaza’s territory. To that end, it has restricted the access of Palestinians to farmland that they own nearby. Over the years, the military has occasionally changed the range of the area it considers off-...

Co-written with the contribution of the Sri Lanka section by Meghana Bahar, WITNESS’ Social Media and Communications Consultant for Asia-Pacific.
In honor of the achievements of the women and human rights defenders who fought before us and those who fight alongside us now, WITNESS wishes...

Qusai al-‘Amur. Photo courtesy of the familyOn 16 January 2017, at about 3:45 P.M., a Border Police officer fatally shot Qusai Hassan Muhammad al-‘Amur, 17, a resident of the town of Tuqu’, Bethlehem District. He fired four 0.22-inch caliber bullets at al-‘Amur. During the hour and a half preceding...

Over the past twenty years, Israel has taken measures to guarantee a nearly blanket exemption from its obligation under international law to pay compensation to Palestinians harmed by its security forces. In a new report released today (Wednesday, 8 March), B’Tselem traces the development of this...

On 10 Jan. 2017 the Civil Administration destroyed a pipeline running from the village of ‘Atuf, in Area A, to three small farmer-shepherd communities in Area C not hooked up to the water grid. The pipe had been laid with aid and funding from an international humanitarian organization. Residents...

On 23 Feb. 2017 the Civil Administration demolished a cistern dug by residents of Khashm a-Daraj-Khashm-al-Karem, the South Hebron Hills. While the community is on the water grid, Israel does not allow it to hookup its farmland, so the limited supply is insufficient for livestock. Mustafa al-Faqir...

By Laura Salas, Translation by Facundo Ercole
Leer en español
I’ve been a warrior because I’m from a town which is full of warriors.
Berta Cáceres, founder of the Concejo Cívico Popular de Honduras (COPINH) [Honduras Popular Civic Council], has become an icon in the fight of hundreds...

I was only twelve years old when I was injured. I didn’t know anything about the military or about demonstrations. I was afraid of soldiers and too scared to take part in demonstrations.My school is on the Ramallah-Nablus road, about 200 meters west of the fence around the Beit El settlement. On...

My son Hassan dropped out of school when he was in junior high and started working as a peddler. Sometimes he sold simple things such as parsley and green herbs or clothespins at a market stall. At other times he would help his father sell flip-flops. He and his father would go up and down the...

On Friday, 8 August 2014, after the Friday prayers, a protest march began in the village, heading towards the eastern part of ‘Azzun, where there's a closed metal gate. Near the gate, clashes began with soldiers. One group of soldiers was lying in wait in the olive groves. Suddenly I saw them about...

I live with my husband, Fayeq Nassar, 55. He has diabetes and high blood pressure. We have nine children. Ya’aqub, who is now 20, is my eldest son.On Thursday, 8 January 2009, Ya’qub was hit by a bullet fired by a Border Police officer. The bullet went through his abdomen and broke four vertebrae...

On 27 September 2013, my son Mu’sab was hit in the right eye by a rubber-coated metal bullet. He was six years old and he lost the eye. That day, we were walking over to his uncle’s house near the main entrance to the refugee camp. When we were near the entrance, we saw soldiers who had come into...

On Thursday, 12 February 2004, at around 12:30 P.M. – I was at home with my daughters. A few of them were playing out in the yard and I was cooking and setting the table for lunch. I heard gunfire and my daughter Nivin – who is now 25 and was 13 at the time – told me there were soldiers outside. I...

Women wait on Palestinian side of Erez Checkpoint to be allowed into Israel. Photo by Muhammad Sabah, B'Tselem, 28 Feb. 2017It's very hard when you’re denied your most basic right: to meet your children whenever you want, to hug them. It's very hard to live with the yearning. I want to hug my...

In January and February 2017, Israeli authorities demolished water supply infrastructure in two areas in the West Bank. In the southern West Bank, authorities demolished seven water cisterns used by farmers and shepherds near the Palestinian village of Tuqu’, Bethlehem District, and another cistern...

Picture Credit: Fahmi Reza
Lena Hendry was found guilty on February 21 2017 by the Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur for screening “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, a film on human rights violations during the civil war in Sri Lanka. Her sentencing will take place on March 22, 2017...

You can play your part to support the #DefendLena Campaign by:
International Friends of Lena Hendry Letter Writing Campaign
Fax or send physical copies of the letter to the named recipients (or alternatively, the nearest Malaysian embassy).
Share the letter on social media with a copy of the...

We, human rights organizations from Israel, consider Israel’s refusal to allow Omar Shakir of Human Rights Watch (HRW) to enter the country a cause of grave concern. We stand in solidarity with him and our colleagues at HRW.Israel seeks to portray itself as a card-carrying member of the club of...

In late January 2017, the military blocked off vehicle access via the main entrance of Palestinian village of ‘Azzun - and kept the entrance shut nearly continuously for two and a half weeks - as collective punishment for incidents in which stones and Molotov cocktails were hurled and live...

Human Rights Defender Lena Hendry has been found guilty by Tuan Mohd. Rehan Mohd. Aris at the Magistrate Court of the offence of the public screening of the film NO FIRE ZONE: THE KILLING FIELDS OF SRI LANKA, a human rights documentary film about war crimes committed during the civil war in Sri...

Gazans have been suffering severe power shortages for a decade, ever since Israel bombed Gaza’s power plant in 2006. Since that time, Israel has prevented restoration of the plant, impeded infrastructure repairs and upgrades, and compelled Gaza authorities to purchase only Israeli fuel at a price...